University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


SPEECH 


OF 


HON.  JOHN  M,   CLAYTON, 

OF    DELAWARE, 


IN  REGARD  TO 


• 


CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT,  U.  S.  N., 


IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  MARCH  11,  1856, 


IN  EXECUTIVE  SESSION 


THE  IX JUNCTION  OF  SECRECY  HAD  BEEN  REMOVED. 


WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED  AT  THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  CO.NGilESSIONAL  GLOBE, 

1856. 


CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT. 


Mr.  CLAYTON  said: 

After  several  weeks  of  absence  from  the  Senate,  owing  to  severe 
indisposition,  I  ask  leave  to  make  an  explanation,  which  would  have 
been  promptly  given  at  a  period  when  it  would  have  been  more  fit- 
ting had  I  been  able  to  occupy  my  seat  when  the  necessity  for  it 
first  occurred. 

A  gallant  officer  of  the  Navy,  a  citizen  of  the  State  of  which  I  am 
a  representative  in  this  body — a  man  who  is,  I  believe  I  may  truly 
say,  universally  honored  and  esteemed  by  the  citizens  of  that  State — 
has  been  personally  assailed,  indirectly,  if  not  directly,  as  one  of  the 
naval  board.  I  refer,  sir,  to  Captain  S.  F.  Du  Pont.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  follow  minutely  the  tracks  of  those  contemptible  calumni- 
ators who  have  attempted  to  spread  a  drag-net  over  every  incident 
of  his  life,  from  his  boyhood,  when  he  first  entered  the  Navy,  to  the 
present  hour,  in  the  vain  hope  that  some  fault  might  be  discovered — 
some  blot  might  be  fixed  upon  the  stainless  name  of  this  brave  and 
chivalrous  gentleman,  to  avenge  themselves  for  the  acts  of  that  naval 
board  ;  but  1  owe  it  to  the  people  I  represent — I  owe  it  to  common 
justice,  to  bear  my  sincere  testimony  in  his  behalf,  and  to  repel  the 
efforts  made  to  injure  him,  no  matter  when  or  by  whom  made. 

Sir,  this  officer,  who  has  been  known  to  his  fellow-citizens  of  Del- 
aware from  his  childhood,  has  spent  about  twenty  years  of  his  lif  j 
afloat  upon  the  ocean  wave,  fearlessly  encountering  the  perils  of  bat- 
tle and  tempest,  with  all  the  other  dangers  incident  to  a  nautical  life. 
A  sailor  more  accomplished,  by  the  universal  testimony  of  his  brother 
officers,  never  trod  the  deck  of  an  American  ship  of  war.  For  his 
admirable  qualities  as  a  seamen  and  an  officer,  he  was  selected  as 
captain  of  the  Congress  frigate,  when  that  noble  vessel  sailed  to  Califor- 
nia during  the  Mexican  war,  under  the  broad  pennant  of  the  gallant 


4  CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU    PONT. 

Commodore  Stockton,  not  long  since  a  distinguished  member  of  this 
body.  Arrived  on  the  coast  of  California,  he  was  there  selected  as 
a  man  eminently  qualified  for  the  command  of  the  American  man-of- 
war  C^ane,  and  for  the  discharge  of  those  active  services,  the  exer- 
cise of  that  sleepless  vigilance  required  in  blockading  ports  on  the 
coast  of  Mexico,  capturing  the  vessels,  breaking  up  the  trade,  and 
taking  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  conquest  of  Lower  California.  Four 
different  commodores,  commanding  on  that  station,  bestowed  upon 
him,  for  the  gallant  and  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties  through  all 
the  trials  and  hazards  to  which  he  was  there  subjected,  their  warm 
and  hearty  approval ;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  himself  added 
one  of  the  most  gratifying  rewards  which  an  American  sailor  can  re- 
ceive, in  the  unqualified  approval  and  highest  commendation  of  the 
Navy  Department.  The  Cyane  was  the  ship  of  war  which,  under 
his  command,  first  hoisted  the  American  flag  at  San  Diego,  and  was 
most  of  all  instrumental  in  the  conquest  of  Lower  California. 

If  the  annals  of  your  Navy  Department  are  truly  written,  this  was 
the  man  who,  on  the  15th  day  of  February,  1848,  performed  a  deed 
which,  for  desperate  courage  and  skillful  management,  was  never  sur- 
passed in  the  annals  of  war.  That  eminently  bra ve  and  much-lamented 
officer,  Lieutenant  Heywood,  had  been  stationed  by  the  commodore 
commanding  the  Pacific  squadron,  with  four  passed  midshipmen  and 
twenty  marines,  in  the  mission  house  at  San  Jose,  to  prevent  the 
execution  of  a  threat  of  Colonel  Pineda,  that  he  "would  come  to  that 
place  and  put  to  death  all  friendly  to  the  flag  of  the  United  States." 
Being  suddenly  apprised  that  Heywood  was  besieged  at  San  Jose, 
with  the  whole  Mexican  force  upon  him,  the  commander  of  the  Cyane, 
with  the  most  successful  dispatch,  sailed  from  La  Paz,  and  arrived 
before  San  Jose  on  the  14th  of  February,  at  sundown.  He  heard 
the  report  of  the  besieging  artillery,  and  beheld  the  Mexican  forces, 
which  included,  among  their  infantry,  Pineda's  veteranos,  with  the 
Mexican  cavalry,  all  finely  mounted  and  armed  with  lances,  carbines, 
and  rifles,  and  all  swarming  to  the  attack  upon  the  fortress  in  which 
Heywood,  with  his  little  band,  had  taken  refuge.  Heywood  was 
reduced  to  the  utmost  extremity  for  want  of  provisions  and  water, 
having  been  engaged  in  constant  fighting  with  the  overwhelming  force 
of  Mexicans  for  more  than  three  weeks.  Avoiding  the  danger  of  an 
ambuscade  by  night,  Du  Pont  landed  his  whole  available  force,  for  the 
rescue  of  Heywood,  from  the  Cyane,  af  day-break  on  the  morning  of 
the  15th,  that  force  being  but  one  hundred  and  two  men  and  officers, 
all  told,  and  rushed  forward  to  the  rescue  of  Heywood,  through  a 
distance  of  two  miles,  wading  the  water  and  climbing  the  hills,  while 
driving  before  him  a  Mexican  force  of  more  than  three  times  his 
number.  Flanked  on  both  sides  by  Mexican  riflemen  in  ambush — 
still  forcing  his  way  onward  amid  showers  of  bullets,  he  reached  the 
castle  of  San  Jose,  defeated  and  dispersed  the  Mexicans,  and  rescued 


CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT.  5 

the  brave  Hey  wood  with  his  band.  It  was  this  battle  of  San  Vincente 
which  materially  helped  to  lay  the  sure  foundation  for  the  conquest  of 
Lower  California.  With  delight  we  have  often  read  in  romance  of 
the  beleaguered  knight  rescued  from  besieging  squadrons  by  the  gal- 
lantry of  his  broth ers-in-arms,  but  there  is  not  an  incident  in  history 
which  more  thoroughly  stirs  the  blood  than  the  official  report  which  I 
hold  in  my  hand,  which  represents  Heywood,  with  his  distressed  but 
unconquerable  little  company,  as  he  looked  out  amid  the  blaze  of 
musketry  and  rifles,  from  the  top  of  his  fortress  at  sundown  on  the 
l^th  of  February,  1848,  upon  the  gulf  of  California,  and  saw  the 
Cyane,  with  the  American  flag  streaming  from  the  rigging,  in  the 
offing,  giving  proof  that  his  countrymen  had  at  last  appeared  to  save 
himself  and  his  little  garrison  from  those  savage  enemies  who  had 
publicly  declared  their  fixed  determination  to  exterminate  them. 
The  anxiety  of  Heywood  that  Du  Pont  should  not  land  until  day, 
lest  he  should  be  cut  to  pieces  by  the  Mexicans  in  ambush  during  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  was  relieved  as  day  broke  upon  the  scene  of 
conflict,  when  he  found  that  the  commander  of  the  Cyane,  whose 
judgment  fully  apprised  him  of  the  danger  of  his  position,  had  then 
landed  his  little  force  as  soon  as  he  could  see  his  way,  and,  though 
pressed  on  all  sides  by  the  Mexicans,  who  fought  desperately,  was 
driving  them  before  him.  Painful,  indeed,  must  have  been  his 
solicitude  when  he  beheld  the  small  force  of  his  countrymen  surrounded 
by  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy;  but  still,  as  the  flashes  of  the 
musketry  enabled  him  to  look  through  the  smoke  of  the  conflict,  his 
heart  leaped  for  joy  as  he  beheld  the  American  standard  still  pressing 
onward  to  save  him.  The  greeting  between  these  two  officers  and 
their  men,  when  Heywood  sallied  out  to  drive  the  enemy  from  the 
town  and  support  Du  Pont,  may  be  better  imagined  than  described. 
The  dangers  which  surrounded  those  engaged  in  the  achievement 
of  this  brilliant  victory,  where  but  a  few  hundred  were  engaged, 
was  as  great  to  the  individuals  involved  in  them  as  that  actually 
incurred  in  many  of  those  greater  battles  where  thousands  were 
engaged  during  the  Mexican  war.  Indeed,  had  not  the  Mexicans 
fired  generally  above  their  heads,  our  sailors  must  have  been  cut  to 
pieces. 

Lieutenant  Heywood,  in  his  report  to  the  commander-in-chief,  thus 
describes  the  result : 

"  On  the  14th  we  continued  digging  for  water  ~We  found  that  the  enemy  had 
thrown  up  a  second  breastwork  more  to  the  westward,  giving  them  a  cross  fire  upon 
our  watering  place.  There  was  a  continued  fire  kept  up  upon  the  cuartel  during  the 
day.  At  three  o'clock  and  thirty  minutes,  p.  m.,  a  sail  was  reported  in  sight,  which 
proved  to  be  the  United  States  ship  'Cyane.'  She  anchored  after  sundown.  We 
saw  her  getting  her  boats  out,  and  were  extremely  apprehensive  that  she  would 
attempt  to  land  men,  when,  in  a  night  ambuscade,  with  such  odds  against  them, 
disastrous  consequences  might  ensue.  It  was,  of  course,  a  joyful  sight  to  see  friends 


6  CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT. 

so  near;  but  I  entertained  great  doubt  that  they  would  be  able  to  render  us  any 
essential  assistance,  the  enemy  being  so  vastly  superior  in  numbers. 

"  The  enemy  continued 'their  fire  on  us  during  the  night. 

"  On  the  15th,  at  daylight,  we  became  aware  that  the  '  Cyane'  was  landing  men. 
They  soon  commenced  their  advance,  which,  for  a  few  minutes,  was  continued  with 
the  opposition  of  only  a  scattering  fire ;  then  the  enemy  opened  upon  them  in  earnest. 
They  had  concentrated  nearly  their  entire  force  near  the  hamlet  of  San  Vincente. 
We  saw  the  flash  of  musketry  through  all  the  hills  above  the  ranches.  There  were 
the  odds  of  more  than  three  to  one  against  our  friends.  Steadily  they  came  on, 
giving  back  the  fire  of  the  enemy  as  they  advanced. 

"  There  was  still  a  party]of  the  enemy  occupying  the  town,  firing  upon  us.  I  took 
thirty  men  and  sallied  out  upon  them,  drove  them  from  cover,  killing  one  and 
wounding  several  of  them,  and  marched  on  to  join  the  '  Cyane'  men,  who,  with 
Captain  Du  Pont  at  their  head,  had  now  drawn  quite  near  to  us.  There  were  small 
detached  parties  of  the  enemy  still  hovering  about  them  and  firing  at  them,  but  the 
main  body  of  the  enemy  had  been  broken,  and  retired  to  San  Animas,  distant  two 
miles. 

"  The  march  of  the  '  Cyane'  men  to  our  relief  through  an  enemy  so  vastly  their 
superior  in  numbers,  well  mounted,  and  possessing  every  advantage  in  knowledge 
of  the  ground,  was  certainly  an  intrepid  exploit,  as  creditably  performed  as  it  was 
skillfully  and  boldly  planned,  reflecting  the  greatest  honor  on  all  concerned,  and 
resulting  most  fortunately  for  us  in  our  harassed  situation." 

The  commodore  commanding  the  Pacific  squadron  at  the  time, 
in  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  ten  days  after  the  battle, 
expresses  his  commendation  in  these  terms.  (I  read  from  the  public 
document  transmitted  to  Congress  from  the  Navy  Department  shortly 
afterwards :) 

UNITED  STATES  SHIP  INDEPENDENCE,  MAZATLAN,  February  25,  1848. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  forward  herewith  reports  from  Commander  S.  F.  Du 
Pont,  and  Lieutenant  Charles  Hey  wood,  dated  16th  and  22d  February,  and  21st  and 
22d  same  month. 

I  want  words  to  express  my  sense  of  the  gallant  conduct  of  these  officers,  and  of 
the  officers  and  men  under  their  command,  as  detailed  in  their  reports;  but  feel  that 
I  am  perfectly  safe  in  saying  that  the  annals  of  no  war  can  furnish  instances  of 
greater  coolness,  of  more  indomitable  perseverance,  of  more  conspicuous  bravery, 
and  of  sounder  judgment,  than  are  to  be  found  in  these  details.  They  will  be  read 
with  pride  and  pleasure  by  the  Department,  and  by  every  American,  and  will  secure 
to  all  concerned  a  most  enviable  place  in  the  estimation  of  their  countrymen. 

I  have  the  best  reason  to  believe  that  these  reports,  so  far  from  overrating  the  acts 
of  those  concerned,  are  strongly  imbued  with  the  modesty  of  true  courage,  which 
adheres  to  truth,  but  shrinks  from  exaggeration,  and  rather  diminishes  than  magni- 
fies its  own  deeds. 

The  satisfaction  arising  from  this  brilliant  victory  over  the  enemy  is  clouded  by 
the  fall  of  Passed  Midshipman  Tenant  McLanahan,  a  young  officer  of  great  promise. 
He  received  the  fatal  wound  standing  by  the  flag  of  his  country,  and  died  in  the 
hour  of  victory— an  early  but  enviable  death— placing  his  name  high  on  the  roll  of 
those  who  peril  all  in  the  cause  of  their  country,  and  giving  to  his  afflicted  friends 
the  mournful  satisfaction  arising  from  the  rcliection  that  he  has  sealed  a  life  of  honor 
with  a  death  of  glory. 


CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  POXT.  7 

Tlie  presence  of  the  Cyane,  and  the  excellent  judgment  of  Commander  Du  Pont 
and  Lieutenant  Hey  wood,  will,  I  hope,  secure  the  garrison  at  San  Jose  from  further 
molestation  until  the  measures  which  Governor  Mason  informs  me  he  is  taking  to 
send  reinforcements  into  the  territory,  can  be  effected. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  BRANFORD  SHUBRICK, 

Commanding  Pacific  Squadron. 
Hon.  JOHN  Y.  MASON,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington,  D.  C. 

I  forbear,  sir,  to  comment  upon  other  incidents  in  the  life  of  Cap- 
tain Du  Pont  referred  to  in  the  naval  documents,  which  reflect  honor 
upon  his  character  both  as  a  man  and  an  officer ;  but  I  must  be  per- 
mitted to  revert  to  those  matters  which  have  been  made  the  subject 
of  animadversion  against  him.  To  find  ground  upon  which  to  rest 
a  censure,  some  of  those  who  fancy  their  friends  were  injured  by  his 
action  as  a  member  of  the  naval  board,  have  been  compelled  to  go 
back  and  ransack  the  annals  of  the  Navy  Department  nearly  twenty 
years  ago. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  gentleman's  life  has  been  passed  without  a 
blemish  upon  his  reputation.  What  a  noble  commentary  it  is  upon 
any  man's  character  that  his  enemies  cannot  find  one  single  point  for 
reproach,  even  in  this  instance  imaginary,  without  going  back  beyond 
a  history  of  most  exemplary  public  service  of  nearly  twenty  years ! 
On  the  memorable  cruise  of  the  Ohio  line-of-battle  ship  to  the  Medi- 
terranean, under  Commodore  Hull,  in  1838-'39-'40-'41,  some  of 
the  elite  of  our  naval  officers  were  ordered  to  that  ship,  and  Du  Pont 
was  among  the  number.  As  a  young  lieutenant  on  the  deck  of  that 
noble  ship,  it  is  acknowledged  by  all  that  no  officer  was  more  efficient. 
No  one  could  have  more  faithfully  discharged  all  his  duties.  But  it 
was  the  misfortune  of  Lieutenant  Du  Pont,  together  with  nearly  all 
the  wardroom  officers  of  that  ship,  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  the 
commodore. 

Though  perfectly  prepared  to  do  so,  I  shall  not  enter  into  an 
account  of  the  difficulties  which  interrupted  the  social  relations  be- 
tween the  commodore  and  his  officers.  These  difficulties  had  their 
origin  in  a  question  of  apartments,  and  derived  their  chief  importance 
from  a  peculiar  combination  of  circumstances.  He  wrote  strong 
letters  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  against  these  officers,  charging 
them  with  disrespect  to  him.  Among  the  incidents  which  furnished 
the  grounds  of  complaint,  was  a  fight  between  some  of  his  officers 
and  the  people  of  Port  Mahon,  while  the  Ohio  was  lying  in  that 
harbor.  These  officers  attended  a  carnival  ball,  during  which  the 
people  of  the  place,  without  apparent  provocation,  commenced  an 
attack  upon  the  American  officers,  who  were  only  eight  in  number, 
including  several  young  midshipmen.  Du  Pont,  of  course,  took  part 
in  the  fight  in  defense  of  himself  and  the  other  officers,  and  without 
arms  these  eight  gentlemen  beat,  in  fair  fight,  about  five  times  their 


8  CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT. 

number,  and  were  about  to  restore  order  in  the  ball-room,  when  sud- 
denly, by  command  of  the  governor,  the  armed  soldiery  of  the  garri- 
son, twenty-five  in  number,  with  loaded  muskets  and  fixed  bayonets, 
led  on  by  their  officers,  charged  upon  the  Americans  in  the  theater, 
where  this  occurred,  and  beat  these  young  officers  cruelly  and  brutally. 
Du  Pont  made  a  report  of  the  whole  affair  to  the  captain,  and  asked 
that  his  statement  of  the  outrage  committed  by  the  governor  at  Port 
Mahon  might  be  transmitted  to  the  Senators  and  Representative  from 
his  native  State  in  Congress.  In  this  affair  Du  Pont  was  to  blame 
for  nothing.  He  bravely  defended  his  own  life  and  the  lives  of  his 
friends,  who  escaped  with  their  lives  indeed,  though  covered  with 
blood  and  wounds  and  subjected  to  the  most  shameful  indignities. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  represent  the  carnival  ball  as  a  disreputable 
place;  but  this  imputation  was  completely  refuted  by  the  fact  that 
the  ladies  of  the  commodore's  own  family  were  present  in  that 
assembly  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening.  Du  Pont's  request  for 
permission  to  send  a  copy  of  his  report  of  this  affair  to  the  Senators 
and  member  of  Congress  from  his  State,  drew  down  upon  him,  as  it 
appears  from  this  correspondence,  a  special  censure  from  Commodore 
Hull,  of  which  he  was  wholly  ignorant  till  the  call  for  these  papers 
was  made. 

The  result  of  all  the  commodore's  representations  to  Mr.  Paulding, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  at  that  time,  made  before  he  received  the 
statements  on  the  other  side,  was,  that  a  severe  reprimand,  sent  out 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  was  publicly  read  to  these  officers ; 
and  this  was  followed  by  an  order  from  the  commodore  sending  home 
four  of  the  wardroom  officers — Pendergrast,  Du  Pont,  Missroon,  and 
Godon.  Here  they  demanded  a  hearing  from  the  Secretary,  (Mr. 
Paulding,)  laid  their  proofs  before  him,  and  the  final  result  of  his 
review  of  the  whole  affair  was  that  he  fully  exculpated  these  officers, 
ordered  them  back  to  their  places  in  the  Ohio,  and  sent  another  dis- 
patch to  the  commodore  exempting  them  from  all  censure ;  and  so 
strongly  was  the  Secretary  convinced  of  the  injustice  that  had  been 
done  them,  that  he  directed  the  commodore  to  cause  this  dispatch  to 
be  read  publicly  in  presence  of  all  the  officers  who  had  heard  the 
previous  letter  of  censure. 

I  hold  in  my  hand  an  official  copy  of  Secretary  Paulding's  letter 
of  acquittal,  which  I  ask  may  be  read. 

It  was  read,  as  follows  : 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  June  24.  1840. 

SIR:  Lieutenants  Pendergrast,  Du  Pont,  Missroon,  and  Godon,  have  reported 
themselves  to  the  Department,  in  obedience  to  your  order,  and  at  the  same  time 
requested  an  examination  of  the  facts  which  led  to  the  course  you  have  pursued, 
alleging  that  such  an  examination  will  show  that  they  have  suffered  great  injus- 
tice in  being  removed  from  the  squadron  and  sent  home  to  the  United  States. 

These  allegations,  together  with  some  passages  in  the  dispatches  referring  to  the 


CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT.  9 

motives  which  influenced  you  in  sending  them  home,  induced  the  Department  care- 
fully to  examine  and  collate  all  the  communications  received  from  you  since  your 
departure  from  the  United  States.  This  examination  has  produced  a  conviction 
that,  although  there  might  have  been  sufficient  cause  on  the  ground  of  general 
expediency,  and  a  due  regard  to  that  harmony  among  all  classes  of  officers  which 
is  so  essential  to  the  honor  and  interests  of  the  Navy,  to  withdraw  a  portion  of  the 
officers  from  the  squadron,  and  for  the  commander  to  direct  the  position  of  others  to 
be  changed,  there  are  no  specific  acts  or  definite  charges  exhibited  in  the  documents 
transmitted  to  the  Department,  and  no  official  misconduct  alleged  against  the  ward- 
room officers  of  the  Ohio  generally,  that  would  authorize  or  justify  the  censure 
which  the  Department  passed  on  these  gentlemen  in  the  letter  of  the  16th  Decem- 
ber, 1839. 

As  this  letter  undoubtedly  led  to  the  measure  of  which  Lieutenants  Pendergrast, 
Du  Pont,  Missroon,  and  Godon  complain,  and  has  been  made  public  in  the  squad- 
ron under  your  command  by  being  read  to  the  officers  of  the  Ohio,  the  Department 
feels  it  equally  due  .to  the  obligations  of  justice,  to  its  own  honor,  to  the  feelings  of 
the  officers  of  the  wardroom  of  that  ship,  and  to  the  Navy  generally,  that  it  should 
repair,  as  far  as  may  be  proper  and  becoming,  the  consequences  which  that  letter 
may  have  produced.  For  this  purpose,  therefore,  it  has  been  determined  to  direct 
Lieutenants  Pendergrast,  Du  Pont,  Missroon,  and  Godon  to  return  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  resume  the  duties  and  stations  from  whence  they  were  removed;  and 
that  equal  publicity  be  given  to  this  letter  with  that  of  16th  December,  1839,  which 
was  the  ultimate  cause  of  their  removal. 

In  thus  promptly  endeavoring  to  repair  the  injuries  which  may  have  been  inflicted 
on  the  interests  and  feelings  of  these  officers  by  an  act  which,  though  believed  to  be 
just  and  expedient  at  the  time,  is  now,  from  subsequent  explanations,  admitted  to 
have  been  otherwise,  it  is  confidently  expected  that  this  example  will  have  a  salutary 
influence,  and  produce  the  restoration  of  that  mutual  harmony,  respect,  and  confi" 
dence  among  the  officers  of  the  squadron  in  the  Mediterranean  which  is  equally 
essential  to  the  efficiency  and  reputation  of  the  Navy  and  to  the  welfare  of  their 
country,  which  looks  to  that  right  arm  of  its  defense  for  the  special  protection  of 
its  interests  and  its  honor  throughout  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Under  the  particular  circumstances  of  this  case,  and  most  especially  as  this  letter 
is  intended  to  be  read  in  presence  of  the  officers  of  the  Ohio,  the  Department  deems 
it  a  fit  occasion  to  express  a  further  hope  that  the  commanders  of  the  squadron,  and 
of  the  vessels  composing  it,  will  continue  to  enforce,  by  example,  as  well  as  by  the 
exercise  of  their  just  authority,  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  Navy,  with  a  view 
to  the  maintenance  of  that  subordination,  order,  and  discipline,  without  which  it 
can  neither  preserve  its  well-won  honors,  nor  acquire  new  claims  to  the  gratitude  of 
the  country. 

On  the  other  hand,  by  a  prompt,  cheerful,  and  willing  obedience  to  orders,  by  a 
cordial  and  zealous  support  of  the  measures  of  their  superiors,  and  by  being  equally 
inflexible  in  the  performance  of  their  duties  as  in  the  assertion  of  their  rights,  every 
other  grade  of  officers  will  best  honor  themselves  and  their  profession,  serve  their 
country,  and  merit  her  confidence  in  all  future  trials. 

I  am,  sir,  respectfully  yours,  J.  K.  PAULDING. 

Commodore  ISAAC  HULL, 

Commanding  United  States  Naval  force  in  the  Mediterranean. 

Mr.  CLAYTON.     This  letter,  of  one  of  the  ablest  Secretaries  who 


10  CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT. 

has  ever  been  at  the  head  of  the  Navy  Department,  confers  the  highest 
honor  upon  his  own  character,  as  it  proves  him  to  have  been  one  of 
the  few  men  we  find  in  this  world  who,  after  having  done  an  act  of 
injustice,  are  capable  of  voluntarily  making  ample  reparation  for  it. 

Such,  sir,  is  substantially  the  history  of  the  facts  upon  which  an 
attempt  has  been  made  to  disparage  such  a  man  as  Frank  Du  Pont. 
J  have  reason  to  believe,  sir,  that  when  my  honorable  friend  from 
Texas  was  induced  to  call  for  the  papers  which  disclosed  much  of 
the  history  of  the  events  to  which  I  have  referred,  some  of  those  who 
instigated  the  call,  or  prompted  others  to  press  it,  knew  the  fact,  that 
at  that  time  the  original  draft  of  Secretary  Paulding's  last  dispatch, 
which  exonerated  Du  Pont  and  his  brother  officers  from  the  charges 
which  had  been  made  against  them,  was  believed,  somehow  most 
unaccountably,  to  have  disappeared  from  the  files  of  the  Navy 
Department.  But  fortunately  an  official  copy  of  that  important  paper 
in  the  possession  of  one  of  these  officers  was  produced,  and  then  a 
record  of  the  same  dispatch  was  discovered,  so  that  the  Department 
has  been  able  to  furnish  the  Senate,  in  reply  to  the  call,  with  a 
correct  copy  of  the  exculpatory  letter.  If  the  Senator  from  Texas 
was  furnished  with  a  copy  of  these  papers  without  that  dispatch 
by  any  one,  of  which  I  pretend  to  know  nothing,  or  was  informed 
only  of  the  contents  of  the  other  papers,  omitting  the  last,  then  I 
think  he  will  readily  perceive  that  a  grossly  erroneous  impression  has 
been  made  upon  his  own  mind  by  the  account  of  these  transactions 
which  he  has  seen  or  heard,  and  that  a  fraudulent  attempt  has  been 
made  to  impose  upon  him,  to  the  injury  of  a  gentleman  whose  whole 
life  is  calculated  to  win  only  his  respect  and  admiration. 

No  man  who  has  a  proper  respect  for  the  honored  memory  of  the 
commodore  will  seek  to  recall  these  events  for  the  purpose  of  casting 
unjust  reflections  upon  the  living ;  and  I  purposely  forbear  all  com- 
ment upon  any  part  of  the  proceedings  except  the  triumphant  final 
vindication  of  Du  Pont  and  his  associates  contained  in  the  letter 
of  the  Secretary,  which  justly  closed  the  whole  controversy  forever. 

Indulge  me  in  reference  to  one  other  incident  which  has  been 
referred  to  in  the  Senate.  A  letter  from  Captain  Du  Pont  to  Lieu- 
tenant Rhind,  written  pending  the  investigations  of  the  naval  board, 
was,  during  my  absence,  produced  here  and  read.  Allegations  had 
been  made  before  the  naval  board  against  Lieutenant  Bartlett,  an 
officer  of  the  Navy,  who  has  been  dropped  from  the  service.  That 
officer  had  been  accused,  among  other  things,  of  trading  in  a  public 
vessel  and  smuggling — a  disgraceful  imputation,  if  true.  It  was 
Captain  Du  Font's  duty,  as  a  member  of  that  naval  board,  to  as- 
certain the  facts  agreeably  to  the  strict  instructions  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  to  make  a  "  careful  examination  "  of  each  case.  He 
attempted  to  do  it  by  addressing  a  letter  to  Lieutenant  Moore.  That 
officer  replied,  in  substance,  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  matter, 


CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT.  11 

except  from  rumor.  Captain  Du  Pont  refused  to  be  satisfied  with 
rumor ;  and  having  been  referred  by  Lieutenant  Moore  to  Lieutenant 
Rhind,  (whose  name  I  see  among  those  dropped  from  the  service,) 
as  one  who  was  cognizant  of  the  facts,  he  very  properly  applied  to 
him  to  give  him  the  true  information.  As  an  honorable  man,  he, 
of  course,  desired  to  acquit  the  officer  of  the  charge,  if  it  were  not 
true.  Before  this  letter  was  written  to  Lieutenant  Rhind,  the  naval 
board  had  disposed  of  the  case  of  Lieutenant  Bartlett  upon  other  and 
different  grounds,  and  upon  information  as  to  this  matter  from  other 
sources ;  yet  the  decision  of  the  board,  before  the  receipt  of  inform- 
ation from  Rhind,  has  been  by  some  persons  outside  of  this  Chamber 
presented,  and  held  to  be  evidence  to  show  the  injustice  of  the  naval 
board  in  deciding  upon  the  officer  in  question,  without  waiting  for 
the  answer  of  Rhind.  The  simple  fact,  that  the  officer  was  dropped 
on  other  grounds  laid  before  the  board,  and  that  they  also  had 
abundant  evidence  which,  in  their  judgment,  made  it  entirely  unnec- 
essary to  procure  the  testimony  of  Rhind,  puts  an  effectual  extin- 
guisher upon  this  whole  accusation  against  the  naval  board.  The 
report  of  the  Naval  Committee  will  show  us  how  utterly  immaterial 
the  testimony  of  Rhind  really  was. 

Mr.  President,  the  position  of  this  brave  and  meritorious  officer, 
whose  vindication  I  have  thus  imperfectly  attempted,  has  been  most 
cruelly  and  unjustly  assailed  for  the  decisions  of  that  naval  board ; 
while  others,  members  of  it,  equally  liable  to  malicious  attacks,  and 
who  exercised  as  great  an  influence  in  that  council,  have  escaped 
notice.  The  reason  for  this  is  understood  to  be,  that,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  friends  of  those  who  have  been  dropped  or  retired  from  the 
Navy,  this  gentleman  was  a  leader  among  his  brother  naval  officers. 
It  is  but  a  just  compliment  to  him  to  say  that  he  never  plays  a  second 
part  among  any  officers,  old  or  young,  when  his  duty  to  his  country 
requires  him  to  lead.  Superior  intellect  will  always  subject  any  man 
to  the  imputation  of  controlling  others ;  and  it  is  the  highest  compli- 
ment which  his  enemies  could  have  bestowed  upon  him  in  reference 
to  this  whole  matter,  that  he  is  believed  by  them,  however  untruly, 
to  have  been  the  ruling  spirit  in  that  board.  But  all  men  who  are 
intimately  acquainted  with  him  would  tell  you,  sir,  that  he  is  utterly 
incapable  of  setting  aside  any  man  from  the  active  list  of  his  profes- 
sion except  upon  evidence  clearly  conclusive  to  his  own  best  judg- 
ment. There  never  lived  a  man  more  disposed,  by  the  kindness  and 
generosity  of  his  nature,  to  put  the  most  charitable  construction  on 
the  conduct  of  others.  When  this  board  was  organized,  he  earnestly 
desired  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  excuse  him  from  service  upon 
it.  I  know  that  service  was  a  bitter  cup  to  him,  which  of  all  things 
he  most  desired  should  pass  from  him ;  but  the  Secretary,  knowing 
his  high  qualifications  and  his  elevated  character,  so  well  adapted  to 
give  confidence  in  the  board  to  the  public  mind,  was  inexorable ;  and 


12  CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT. 

no  alternative  was  left  to  Captain  Da  Pont  bat  to  serve  as  he  was 
commanded.  I  have  said,  heretofore,  that,  from  my  knowledge  of 
him,  I  believe  he  would  rather  have  gone  into  action  with  one  of  our 
frigates  against  a  line-of-battle  ship  of  any  enemy  than  to  have  served 
as  a  member  of  that  board.  Some  of  those  who  were  dropped 
from  the  active  list  were  among  his  former  personal  friends,  and  the 
objects  of  his  deepest  sympathy.  But  his  moral,  like  his  physical 
courage,  was  equal  to  any  emergency.  Forced  to  discharge  a  most 
unpleasant  duty,  he  did  it  according  to  the  very  best  judgment  which 
God  had  given  him.  The  members  of  the  board  were  compelled  to 
investigate  facts;  like  judges,  they  were  compelled  to  express  definite 
and  conclusive  opinions.  In  such  cases  the  individuals,  if  honest, 
are  exempted  from  personal  responsibility  for  their  judgment.  No  man 
is  allowed  with  impunity  to  insult  them  for  their  opiiions ;  yet  the 
officers  of  this  naval  board  ought,  in  the  judgment  of  some  of  their 
most  malicious  enemies,  to  be  shot  down  or  degraded  for  the  exercise 
of  their  honest  judgment.  They  removed  no  man  from  office.  The 
whole  responsibility  of  the  removals  rests  upon  the  Secretary  of  the 
Wavy  and  the  President,  whose  duty  it  was,  in  obedience  to  both  the 
Constitution  and  the  law,  to  have  satisfied  themselves  of  the  justness 
of  the  decision  of  that  naval  board.  The  Secretary  recommended  to 
the  President  to  adopt  the  whole  report  of  the  naval  board,  without 
a  single  exception.  Nothing  would  be  more  unworthy,  for  either  the 
Secretary  or  the  President,  than  to  retreat  behind  the  naval  board, 
and  suffer  fifteen  of  the  very  best  officers  in  the  Navy  to  be  victimized 
for  the  purpose  of  shunning  that  just  responsibility  which  belongs  to 
the  Executive  alone.  I  cannot  believe  that  the  President  or  Secre- 
tary will  shun  it.  The  noblest  act  the  Chief  Magistrate  could  now 
perform  would  be  to  inform  Congress,  while  it  is  wasting  its  time  on 
this  subject,  that  he  would  not  permit  his  constitutional  power  to  be 
usurped  by  others  ;  that  he  acknowledged  no  right  of  appeal  existing 
in  this  Senate  or  in  the  other  House,  or  in  both  combined,  to  sit  in 
judgment  upon  his  acts  of  removal,  over  which  they  have  no  control ; 
that  if  it  could  be  shown  to  him  that  injustice  had  been  done  in  any 
one  of  these  naval  removals,  he  would  redress  the  wrong  when  satis- 
fied it  had  been  committed ;  but  that  he  would  yield  nothing  to  pop- 
ular clamor,  got  up  by  interested  parties,  or  their  friends  or  relatives, 
in  high  or  low  places  ;  and  that  he  would  suffer  no  man  to  degrade 
him  by  assuming  that  he  had  exercised  no  judgment  in  these  matters, 
or  to  throw  the  responsibility  due  from  him  alone  upon  those  unof- 
fending officers  in  the  naval  service  who  had  been  compelled  to  obey 
his  orders  in  the  expression  of  their  honest  opinions. 

That,  sir,  would  be  worthy  of  Jackson  in  his  best  days.     Were 
Jackson  now  President  that  is  the  very  course  he  would  adopt. 

Sir,  I  will  venture  to  say,  if  the  precedent  is  to  be  set  in  this  case 
of  trying  these  naval  judges  on  charges  made  by  the  accused,  after 


CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT.  13 

they  have  decided  against  them,  no  honorable  man  in  the  Navy  or 
Army  will  ever  again  consent  to  serve  on  such  a  board  of  inquiry: 
he  would  prefer  to  resign  his  commission.  It  would  seem  as  if  there 
were  an  effort  making  to  compel  some  of  these  members  of  the  naval 
board  to  fight  every  one  of  the  two  hundred  and  one  officers  who 
may  chose  to  insult  them,  or  to  submit  to  be  abused  and  denounced 
in  tbe  most  scandalous  manner. 

There  is  no  view  in  which  any  one  of  the  naval  board  could  be 
justified,  according  to  the  principles  which  govern  men  of  honor  in 
the  Navy,  in  seeking  personal  satisfaction  from  one  who  has  been 
thus  removed  from  the  service.  The  mere  attempt  to  do  it  would 
injure  him  in  the  estimation  of  all  officers  of  his  own  rank,  and  be 
most  disastrous  in  its  consequences  to  the  naval  service. 

Such  is  the  position  of  the  officers  of  this  naval  board.  If  they  are 
to  be  tried  and  condemned  by  the  Senate  for  their  honest  obedience 
to  the  orders  of  the  Navy  Department — if  they  are  to  receive  no  pro- 
tection here  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duties  agreeably  to  the 
instructions  of  the  Secretary  in  the  execution  of  our  own  law,  their 
condition  is  rendered  intolerable  and  desperate ;  and  I  repeat,  that, 
after  establishing  such  a  precedent  as  would  result  from  condemning 
them,  we  could  never  expect  any  honorable  man  to  serve  on  a  board 
of  inquiry. 

As  to  Captain  Du  Pont,  I  have  made  these  explanations  without 
the  slightest  knowledge  on  his  part  that  it  was  my  intention  to  address 
the  Senate  to-day  on  this  subject.  I  want  no  higher  evidence  to 
sustain  him  than  the  eulogistic  testimonial  of  Commodore  William 
Bran  ford  Shubrick,  then  the  commander  in  the  Pacific,  whose  eminent 
services  during  the  war  with  Mexico  were  attended  with  such  signal 
success,  and  whose  bravery  was  illustrated  by  his  participation  in  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  naval  victories  during  the  last  war  with  Great 
Britain.  "  The  annals  of  war,"  he  says,  "  can  furnish  no  instances 
of  greater  coolness  or  more  indomitable  perseverance,  of  more  con- 
spicuous bravery,  and  of  sounder  judgment,"  than  Du  Pont  has 
exhibited.  No  man  is  more  beloved  or  honored  by  his  brother  officers 
in  the  Navy,  or  more  respected  as  an  accomplished  officer,  sailor,  and 
gentleman.  No  man  living  stands  in  higher  repute  wherever  he  is 
known. 

Captain  Du  Pont,  as  I  have  stated,  has  spent  twenty  years  of  his 
naval  life  at  sea ;  but  his  professional  usefulness  has  not  been  con- 
fined to  that  element  alone.  On  shore  he  has  been  employed  in  the 
most  important  public  duties,  and  especially  in  such  as  required  the 
exercise  of  the  highest  professional  knowledge  and  experience.  I 
may  mention  that,  among  other  duties,  he  has  been  a  member  of  two 
boards  convened  for  the  purpose  of  making  codes  of  rules  and  regula- 
tions for  the  government  of  the  naval  service.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  board  which  furnished  the  fundamental  plan  and  organization  of 


14  CAPTAIN  S.  F.  DU  PONT. 

the  Naval  Academy,  when  that  institution  was  founded,  and,  subse- 
quently, of  the  board  which  revised  the  original  system,  and  advanced 
the  Academy  towards  its  present  efficient  and  prosperous  condition  ; 
and,  finally,  he  was  complimented  by  a  late  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
Mr.  Preston,  with  the  appointment  to  the  office  of  superintendent  of 
this  admirable  institution. 

I  do  not  think  it  worth  whfte  to  dwell  upon  the  responsible,  oner- 
ous, and  disagreeable  duties  he  has  often  been  called  on  to  perform, 
as  a  member  of  courts-martial  and  courts  of  inquiry,  otherwise  than 
to  notice  them  as  evidences  of  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  head 
of  the  Navy.  His  present  situation  on  the  light-house  board,  of  which 
he  is  now  a  member,  and  has  been  from  its  first  organization — taking 
an  active  part  in  the  creation  of  the  present  light-house  establishment 
— <-is  another  and  conclusive  proof  of  his  high  standing  with  his  Gov- 
ernment. 

Captain  Du  Pont  has  also  contributed  to  adorn  his  profession  and 
benefit  his  country  with  his  pen.  While  in  1851  the  idea  prevailed 
in  the  country  of  modifying  the  existing  system  of  national  defenses 
by  the  introduction,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  of  floating  batteries, 
Captain  Du  Pont  was  called  upon  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  express 
his  opinions  on  the  subject.  His  "  report  on  the  national  defenses" 
was  considered  so  masterly,  that  it  has  been  republished  separately, 
and  very  generally  distributed  by  some  officers  of  the  corps  of 
engineers.  It  has  received  distinguished  notice  abroad.  Lieutenant 
General  Sir  Howard  Douglass,  in  the  last  edition  of  his  standard 
work  on  gunnery,  a  work  which  has  always  been  considered,  botli  in 
England  and  in  this  country,  as  the  highest  authority,  has  cited  its 
opinions  and  conclusions  with  respect  and  reliance,  and  styles  it  "  an 
admirable  work." 

Sir,  the  standing  and  character  of  Captain  Du  Pont  are  dear  to  all 
the  people  of  his  State,  as  my  honorable  friend  and  colleague  [Mr. 
BAYARD]  will  readily  testify;  and  he  holds  a  place  in  their  affections 
as  one  who  has  conferred  honor  on  the  State,  keeping  in  view  the 
careers  of  Jones  and  McDonough,  who  were  also  her  own  children, 
and  who  had  by  their  faithful  and  distinguished  services  created  in 
Delaware  a  special  pride  in  the  prowess  of  our  Navy.  Like  those 
naval  heroes,  he  will  stand  in  future  time,  in  despite  of  calumny,  as 
a  man  who  has  passed  through  life  with  a  breast  untainted,  and  a 
hand  unstained. 


£?  C6/ 


U.  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


